'You moulded me like clay': David Almond's sexualised monsters

Naarah Sawers is an Alfred Deakin Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Deakin University where she is researching environmental agendas in computer games for children. She has also published and researched in children's literature in the area of feminist bio-ethics and agency.

Cost-effectiveness of adult circumcision in a resource-rich setting for HIV prevention among men who have sex with men

Background.  We examined the effects and cost‐effectiveness of 4 strategies of circumcision in a resource‐rich setting (Australia) in a population of men who have sex with men (MSM).

Method.  We created a dynamic mathematical transmission model and performed an economic analysis to estimate the costs, outcomes, and cost‐effectiveness of different strategies, compared with those of the status quo. Strategies included circumcision of all MSM at age 18 years, circumcision of all MSM aged 35–44 years, circumcision of all insertive MSM aged 18 years, and circumcision of all MSM aged 18 years . All costs are reported in US dollars, with a cost‐effectiveness threshold of $42,000 per quality‐adjusted life‐year.

Results.  We find that 2%–5% of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections would be averted per year, with initial costs ranging from $3.6 million to $95.1 million, depending on the strategy. The number of circumcisions needed to prevent 1 HIV infection would range from 118 through 338. Circumcision of predominately insertive MSM would save $21.7 million over 25 years with a $62.2 million investment. Strategies to circumcise 100% of all MSM and to circumcise MSM aged 35–44 years would be cost‐effective; the latter would require a smaller investment. The least cost‐effective approach is circumcision of young MSM close to their sexual debut. Results are very sensitive to assumptions about the cost of circumcision, the efficacy of circumcision, sexual preferences, and behavioral disinhibition.

Conclusions.  Circumcision of adult MSM may be cost‐effective in this resource‐rich setting. However, the intervention costs are high relative to the costs spent on other HIV prevention programs.

Revised stratigraphy of the Blanchetown Clay, Murray Basin: age constraints on the evolution of paleo Lake Bungunnia

Paleo Lake Bungunnia covered more than 40 000 km2 of southern Australia during the Plio-Pleistocene, although the age and origin of the lake remain controversial. The Blanchetown Clay is the main depositional unit and outcrop at Nampoo Station in far-western New South Wales provides the most continuous lacustrine section preserved in the basin. Here the Blanchetown Clay represents the maximum lake fill and comprises: (i) a basal well-sorted sand with interbedded clay (Chowilla Sand), representing initial flooding at the time of lake formation; (ii) a thick sequence of green-grey clay comprised dominantly of kaolinite and illite, with the apparently cyclic occurrence of illite interpreted to represent cool and dry glacial climatic intervals; and (iii) a 2.6 m-thick sequence of finely laminated silt and silty clay, here defined as the Nampoo Member of the Blanchetown Clay. New magnetostratigraphic data constrain the age of the oldest lake sediments to be younger than 2.581 Ma (Matuyama-Gauss boundary) and probably as young as 2.4 Ma. This age is significantly younger than the age of 3.2 Ma previously suggested for lake formation. The youngest Blanchetown Clay is older than 0.781 Ma (Brunhes-Matuyama boundary) and probably as old as 1.2 Ma. The Nampoo Station section provides a framework for the construction of a regional Plio-Pleistocene stratigraphy in the Murray Basin.

Conspicuous, ultraviolet-rich mouth colours in begging chicks

There is as yet no clear consensus on the function of vivid mouth colours in begging chicks. A major obstacle to our understanding has been that no studies have measured gape colours independently of human colour perception. Here, we present the first study, to our knowledge, to use UV-VIS spectrometry to quantify the gape colour, background nest colour and nest light environment of eight European passerines. Both mouths and the surrounding flanges show striking and previously unreported peaks of reflectance in the ultraviolet, coupled with high long-wavelength reflectance responsible for the human-visible appearance of the gape. High ultraviolet reflectance is likely to have an important effect on the conspicuousness of nestling mouths, since contrast with the nest background is maximal in the ultraviolet. Furthermore, the dual-peak nature of the spectra suggests that gapes are avian non-spectral colours analogous to human purple.

Predicting the resistance of fired clay bricks to salt attack

The salt attack of Fired Clay Bricks (FCBs) causes surface damage that is aesthetically displeasing and eventually leads to structural damage. Methods for determining the resistances of FCBs to salt weathering have mainly tried to simulate the process by using accelerating aging tests. Most research in this area has concentrated on the types of salt that can cause damage and the damage that occurs during accelerated aging tests. This approach has lead to the use of accelerated aging tests as standard methods for determining resistance. Recently, it has been acknowledged that are not the most reliable way to determine salt attack resistance for all FCBs in all environments. Few researchers have examined FCBs with the aim of determining which material and mechanical properties make a FCB resistant to salt attack. The aim of this study was to identify the properties that were significant to the resistance of FCBs to salt attack. In doing so, this study aids in the development of a better test method to assess the resistance of FCBs to salt attack. The current Australian Standard accelerated aging test was used to measure the resistance of eight FCBs to salt attack using sodium sulfate and sodium chloride. The results of these tests were compared to the water absorption properties and the total porosity of FCBs. An empirical relationship was developed between the twenty-four-hour water absorption value and the number of cycles to failure from sodium sulfate tests. The volume of sodium chloride solution was found to be proportional to the total porosity of FCBs in this study. A phenomenological discussion of results led to a new mechanism being presented to explain the derivation of stress during salt crystallisation of anhydrous and hydratable salts. The mechanical properties of FCBs were measured using compression tests. FCBs were analysed as cellular materials to find that the elastic modules of FCBs was equivalent for extruded FCBs that had been fired a similar temperatures and time. Two samples were found to have significantly different elastic moduli of the solid microstructure. One of these samples was a pressed brick that was stiffer due to the extra bond that is obtained during sintering a closely packed structure. The other sample was an extruded brick that had more firing temperature and time compared with the other samples in this study. A non-destructive method was used to measure the indentation hardness and indentation stress-strain properties of FCBs. The indentation hardness of FCBs was found to be proportional to the uniaxial compression strength. In addition, the indentation hardness had a better linear correlation to the total porosity of FCBs except for those samples that had different elastic moduli of the solid microstructure. Fractography of exfoliated particles during salt cycle tests and compression tests showed there was a similar pattern of fracture during each failure. The results indicate there were inherent properties of a FCB that determines the size and shape of fractured particles during salt attack. The microstructural variables that determined the fracture properties of FCBs were shown to be important variables to include in future models that attempt to estimate the resistance of FCBs to salt attack.

Complexity of data rich architectural environments

This research focused on developing a detailed understanding of current organisational interactions and information flows in a construction industry based field study of a refurbishment projects of a 100 year old warehouse building. From this, conclusions are then drawn regarding the application of information and communication technologies (ICT) to the industry.

Rethinking curriculum, assessment and reporting in a technology-rich school environment

This research presents a portrait of a school experiencing the dilemmas and tensions of adapting to new technology. Teachers, parents and students' reactions to, and involvement in, the defining of the 'learning community' of the school is analysed and documented as multimodal reporting of student learning and progress is introduced.

Effect of a stearic acid-rich, structured triacylglycerol on plasma lipid concentrations

Background: Structured lipids are being incorporated into foods to reduce their energy value. One such lipid is rich in stearic acid.
Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the effects on plasma lipids of a stearic acid–rich triacylglycerol and a fat rich in palmitic acid in hypercholesterolemic subjects.
Design: Fifteen subjects with an average plasma cholesterol concentration of 6.13 ± 0.80 mmol/L initially ate a low-fat diet for 2 wk (run-in period), followed in random order and blinded fashion by 2 high-fat diets (for 5 wk each) containing foods derived from margarines rich either in palmitic acid or in the structured, stearic acid–rich triacylglycerol.
Results: Plasma cholesterol concentrations with the low-fat, the stearic acid–rich, and the palmitic acid–rich diets were not significantly different (5.35 ± 0.83, 5.41 ± 0.78, and 5.52 ± 0.68 mmol/L, respectively) but were significantly lower (P < 0.001) than those measured during the habitual diet period (ie, 2 wk before the study began). Neither HDL cholesterol nor plasma triacylglycerol differed significantly among the 3 study diets.
Conclusion: A similar increase in the intake of stearic and palmitic acids (differing by <5% of total energy) to ensure a high fat intake resulted in plasma total and LDL-cholesterol concentrations that did not differ significantly from concentrations measured during a period of low-fat intake.

Rapeseed (canola) oil and other monounsaturated fatty acid-rich vegetable oils

Rapeseed (canola) and other monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA)-rich oils are viewed as good candidates to replace, at least partially, the fish oil normally included in aquaculture feeds (aquafeeds). In fact, their utilization as a dietary lipid source for aquatic animals has some advantages over other readily available terrestrial alternative oils and fats; however, this is not without difficulties. MUFA are, indeed, easily digestible and a good source of available energy, and their deposition into fish flesh is considered to be less detrimental than other fatty acid classes, from a human nutritional viewpoint. This chapter attempts to review the principal information available regarding the utilization of MUFA-rich vegetable oil (VO) in aquaculture feed. Initially the chapter focuses on the rapeseed oil eRa) industry, agronomy, quality improvement, processing, and uses, and the main chemical and physical characteristics of rapeseed oil and other MUFA-rich va such as olive oil, peanut oil, and rice bran oil, amongst others. Following this, the potential advantages and challenges of using these alternative oils in the aquaculture feed industry are presented and discussed.

n-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acid-rich vegetable oils and blends

α-Linseed, camelina. perilla, and echium oils are n-3 C₁₈ polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-rich vegetable oil sources viewed as favorable replacements to fish oil in aquaculture feed (aquafeed) production in consideration of their high (α-linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3n-3) and/or stearidonic acid (SDA, 18:4n-3) contents and potential for subsequent bioconversion to n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) in farmed aquatic species. While the total production of these oils is currently low in comparison with that of other terrestrial oil sources, their distinct fatty acid composition and high n-3 to n-6 ratio deliver a unique substitute to fish oil in aquafeeds, presently unparalleled in other alternative terrestrial oil sources. The dietary inclusion of these oil sources has therefore attracted significant research attention, resulting in a multitude of investigations across a broad range of aquatic species (finfish and crustaceans). Generally, providing that the essential fatty acid (EFA) requirements of the species under investigation were met and an adequate level of fish meal was present in the diet, it was found possible to replace 100% and 60-70% of the dietary fish oil component for freshwater and marine species, respectively, with minimal impact on growth performance indices. However, the substitution of fish oil with n-3-rich vegetable oils and/or vegetable oil blends resulted in substantially reduced concentrations of health-promoting eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) in the edible portion of the farmed species. This chapter provides an overview of the use of n-3 PUFA-rich vegetable oils and/or vegetable oil blends for use in aquafeeds. In particular, key aspects of oil production, processing, and refinement will be presented, and individual differences pertaining to the physical, chemical, and nutritional characteristics of the oil types will be highlighted. Following on from this, a summary of the key findings relevant to n-3 PUFA-rich vegetable oil inclusion in aquafeeds will be discussed, with particular emphasis placed on growth performance and nutritional modification.